Really good study method but, bad grades

[Red sea]

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I like reading from the textbook, and reading more than what's required of the class and sometimes even things that aren't covered in the class. I tend to be able to memorize things easily IF I understand it thoroughly. My mind wanders of so easy in lecture unless I read the material before hand so I know what the professor is talking about.

This strategy of reading the textbook thoroughly to understand the material well sounds good but... my grades aren't that good. It takes too long to dissect an entire textbook chapter (sometimes chapterS) which means I'll be behind in the class.

Really sucks. Anyone else in this situation / felt like this before? 🙁

So much for having a thirst for knowledge, eh? 😛

Kids see me studying all the time and wonder what my GPA is. They'll be surprised to know they might even have a higher GPA than I do 😱

 

[mees]

As a fellow student in college with some difficulty with study habits as well, thank you for bringing this up. At the beginning of this semester I decided "this is it, this is going to be the semester," and I rented the textbooks I needed and began reading every day before and after class for certain classes. I found myself stretched thin to get work done after finishing reading chapterS, and losing sleep. What I found is that if you attend lecture, and study notes/powerpoints from lecture and focus on what is discussed in the book, thing work out much smoother. And get sleep, it's so important! That's if you start studying early enough. I think you're just getting too much information, generally after your first exam in a class you can get a feel for what the upcoming exams will be like too. See if you recognize material from your notes and lecture, or if the material is truly pulled from the textbook and hasn't been discussed.

Good luck! Raising a GPA can be very difficult and slow, and I'm working on it too, but it can happen! Stay positive!

 

[SuperFeisty]

You know, I do a lot of the same things you two do. Reading textbooks and truly understanding them is both difficult and time consuming. A lot of how quickly one can read depends on their focus, intelligence, and strength of their background courses.

But ultimately, the point of reading text is to reinforce what you've learned in class. A lot of professors teach concepts and expect you to be able to go find the nitty gritty details in different sources. If reading text is truly time consuming for you, I would suggest writing quick little outlines of each section as reference points.

Also, while memorizing is a fine way to use your mind, understanding the concepts at every level is far more important in the undergraduate level.

 

[dyk343]

If reading the txt is not working for you you need to find another way to study. I suggest...

1) only using the txt when you do not understand something and study mostly off the notes. Notes are usually the beef of the chapter and stress the most important concepts. Picky details may be tested, but will be forgotten in time.

2) Reading the txt but making an outline as you go along, as mentioned above. This is time consuming but if you must read the text maybe it will help you remember it better if you write it down.

3) Try going thru the lecture slides then at the end of the lecture slides get out a fresh piece of paper and try to write out in paragraph "story" form what you just learned, or the beef of the material. Its difficult to do but if you can do it you should know the chapter very well. Go back and review and if you forgot some important points close the notes again and re write it all out again until you get the chapter down. This has been my method and I still use it in grad school.

What works for one may not work for another. You have to find out what works for you. Obviously its not reading the chapter. Good luck.


edit: 500th post!

 

[DPMer]

MMM HMMM... Well, there are mountains of hand outs to memorize and lots of concepts to understand IN A SHORT TIME PERIOD. Reading a textbook is time consuming. It is only if you have any time. The hand outs take up alot of your time. Then note service. Then your own notes.

For each course in the 1st two years, you will notice piles of handouts, note service, and your own notes full of tons of facts and concepts. Develop a system of memorizing, make up mnemonics, or use the Socratic method of question and answer to tackle those handouts, note service notes, and your own notes of the TONS OF INFO to absorb in A SHORT TIME PERIOD.

FYI: more facts than concepts to grasp and absorb in podiatry school with the exception of MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY, PODIATRIC BIOMECHANICS, and PODIATRIC PATHOMECHANICS (these 3 courses are VERY heavy on conceptualizing concepts and less on memorizing facts). Part of the reason why very "smart" people with GPAs in the 3.8 and up in college could fail IF they lack the organized systematic memorizing skills and ONLY have conceptualizing skills.

😱 You will notice where did the time go? Exams already?

 

[utahpod]

Doing well in a class is less of knowing everything about a subject and more about knowing what your teacher wants you to know. I will usually study lecture slides with minimal notes. I used to take notes religiously in class but, after a few semesters, I realized that I didn't retain anything that was said in lecture. Another problem I have run in to is that I find myself memorizing the random facts about a specific topic but I miss the 'big picture'. So I recently started finding youtube videos on the topic we are discussing before class so I can visualize what the professor is actually talking about and then fit in the details. But my roommate is completely opposite and he does just fine as well. This is a tough question because there is no right answer. Just find what works for, I guess.

Good luck man (or girl)!! You'll do great 🙂

 

[347932]

Doing well in a class is less of knowing everything about a subject and more about knowing what your teacher wants you to know.

This about sums it up.

Textbooks are used for reference if you want to learn more, but shouldn't be the basis for examinations. The professor is there for a reason. They should guide to what is important and what they feel is necessary for the course load.

Reading a textbook won't advance your studies and it seems like it is getting in the way with your academic success.

Wait until residency to read the texts or go to them to further your base of knowledge, not to build it. That's what the classroom/class notes are for.

 

[zane870]

Once you enter med or pod school, time management becomes your #1 priority. Reading long textbook chapters just isn't efficient or productive once you get to this level- especially when the assigned text is from Harrison's Bible of Internal Medicine or something like that. As Kidsfeet said in the previous post, use these books as references to draw together your understanding if needed. Otherwise, stick to the powerpoints provided for the lecture. Review the lecture materials from the day after class and get a grasp of what will be discussed the next day in lecture and you should be ok.

 

[DPMer]

This about sums it up.

Textbooks are used for reference if you want to learn more, but shouldn't be the basis for examinations. The professor is there for a reason. They should guide to what is important and what they feel is necessary for the course load.

Reading a textbook won't advance your studies and it seems like it is getting in the way with your academic success.

Wait until residency to read the texts or go to them to further your base of knowledge, not to build it. That's what the classroom/class notes are for.

I remember my Pharmacology professor saying this statement about review for the cumulative comprehensive Final Exam:

"I gave you folks all the answers! That's my job in lecture class, folks! All those hand outs, note services, and your own notes contain all the answers I want you all to know. It's your turn to give me back those answers in the final exam." (every student in the lecture room, including me, smirked, laughed, and looked at each other--- yeah, it was a smart [and a smart-ass] answer.)

This statement sums up the value of handouts and note-service, and less value of textbooks in the 1st two years of podiatry school, mainly with the core basic science courses that allopathic and osteopathic med students take.

 

[Red sea]

This about sums it up.

Textbooks are used for reference if you want to learn more, but shouldn't be the basis for examinations. The professor is there for a reason. They should guide to what is important and what they feel is necessary for the course load.

Reading a textbook won't advance your studies and it seems like it is getting in the way with your academic success.

Wait until residency to read the texts or go to them to further your base of knowledge, not to build it. That's what the classroom/class notes are for.

I wish I could go back to high school so I could really LEARN the concepts and material. It would have made college much smoother. High school was easy so there was plenty of time to read textbooks after school. Too bad I didn't. Now, I'm in college and I'm wondering, if I can really learn and master the basics in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics now, it would really make podiatry school so much easier and better.

I don't buy textbooks anymore. I simply pick up ANY book on the subject and I'm good to go. Like in Chem, I'm using a different textbook than the entire class but I'm pulling a B+ in the course. Suppose we are learning balancing equations, I just look on the syllabus and find the topic in my book and learn the concepts then when I go to lecture I fill in the blanks wherever there's a difference between my book and the professor's notes. Do you understand my method? I'm just looking to really thoroughly understand the material to the point where I could re-teach it to my little sister for even her to understand it.

Now, I understand your arguments that textbook's are just a little "too extra" to passing a course but that's my problem. What does it profit me to say I got a 4.0 but I didn't learn anything? Same argument can be made for having a sub 2.0 and actually learning something. I don't want to just pass the class for passing sake. Of course professor's are there for a reason and it would be completely arrogant to say, "I don't need a professor I can learn on my own at home". You can't ask a textbook questions.

I told someone that I would be studying 4 years for the MCAT and they were like . Lol. But as a science major, shouldn't the science courses I'm taking be studying / preparation for the MCAT? So technically, am I not studying 4 years for the MCAT? If I'm not just trying to pass exams that is.

At the end of the day, you are right. It's just that I don't want to get to podiatry school only to say, "college didn't prepare me for this". I said that about high school when I got to college. You guys are right though. I have to take it a little easy and read the text during the summer then I guess.

 

[Red sea]

Once you enter med or pod school, time management becomes your #1 priority. Reading long textbook chapters just isn't efficient or productive once you get to this level- especially when the assigned text is from Harrison's Bible of Internal Medicine or something like that. As Kidsfeet said in the previous post, use these books as references to draw together your understanding if needed. Otherwise, stick to the powerpoints provided for the lecture. Review the lecture materials from the day after class and get a grasp of what will be discussed the next day in lecture and you should be ok.

I see. You guys have "been there, done that" so it would be useless for an amateur like me to argue with you though.

 

[Red sea]

I remember my Pharmacology professor saying this statement about review for the cumulative comprehensive Final Exam:

"I gave you folks all the answers! That's my job in lecture class, folks! All those hand outs, note services, and your own notes contain all the answers I want you all to know. It's your turn to give me back those answers in the final exam." (every student in the lecture room, including me, smirked, laughed, and looked at each other--- yeah, it was a smart [and a smart-ass] answer.)

This statement sums up the value of handouts and note-service, and less value of textbooks in the 1st two years of podiatry school, mainly with the core basic science courses that allopathic and osteopathic med students take.

I print out handouts. I compare them to my own notes I take when I read the textbook. So someone with a thorough or even "mastery" understanding of Bio wouldn't have an advantage in pod school? 😛. I attribute some of my struggles in college to a lack of "fundamentals" from high school down to elementary

 

[347932]

So someone with a thorough or even "mastery" understanding of Bio wouldn't have an advantage in pod school? 😛.

Actually, no.